• Water Resources

Green Infrastructure Approaches for Managing Stormwater

Green infrastructure uses permeable, nature-based approaches for retaining and treating stormwater where it falls.  This tab presents resources on using green infrastructure to manage stormwater in the face of changing precipitation patterns due to climate change. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by resource type, impact, region, state, jurisdictional focus, or green infrastructure technique.

 

 

 

80 results are shown below.

Technique
Green Infrastructure Technique

 

 

Resource

Scoring System for Watershed Retrofits

December 2013

Created for the City of Arlington, Virginia the "Scoring System for Watershed Retrofits" provides details on the ranking and prioritizing process used in the city’s Watershed Retrofit Study. The scoring system is comprised of eight categories that each retrofit project was graded on. They include:

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

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Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan

November 2013

The Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan focuses on the improved management of storm water, surface waters and groundwater in New Orleans, Louisiana, in response to flooding, land subsidence and “wasted water assets. ” The primary area of focus is 155 miles of urban areas and 69 square miles of protected wetlands in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. The plan discusses how climate change threatens to raise the frequency of extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. Considered along with land subsidence, residents and economic assets are at great risk - and pumping stormwater and keeping floodwaters out are both projected to become more difficult over time.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Boston Architectural College Green Alley Initiative

October 2013

The Boston Architectural College (BAC) installed a green alley demonstration project on its campus located in the Back Bay area of Boston along the Charles River.   The green alley used permeable pavement to allow stormwater to percolate through the road bed to recharge groundwater and filter pollutants.   The project was designed to be replicable and to help with public education on the benefits and design of green infrastructure. The purpose of the green alley is to reduce polluted runoff by filtering and redirecting rainfall to the groundwater table.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Average Rating

District of Columbia Green Area Ratio - Zoning Regulations

October 1, 2013

The District of Columbia (Washington D. C. ) Green Area Ratio (GAR) is an environmental sustainability zoning regulation which sets requirements for landscape elements and site design to help reduce stormwater runoff, improve air quality, and mitigate urban heat. The GAR sets minimum lot coverage standards for landscape and site design features to promote greater livability, ecological function, and climate adaptation in the urban environment. The GAR requirements provide a firm retention target and allow local governments to weight the elements they prefer in order to influence behavior, while providing some measure of flexibility for property owners.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Stormwater Management Toolkit: Urban Watershed Planning Game

June 1, 2013

As part of the Stormwater Management Toolkit, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) developed the Urban Watershed Planning Game. This game helps the SFPUC understand community priorities by presenting a diverse group of community members with the task of updating San Francisco’s sewer system. The game fosters the development of green infrastructure solutions that help San Francisco adapt to the impacts of climate change in a financially feasible, community driven manner.  This game is a great resource for city planners, watershed managers, public engagement officers, and citizens.

Resource Category: Education and Outreach

 

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EPA Nonpoint Source Grant Program for States and Territories

April 12, 2013

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nonpoint Source Program (CFDA Number: 66.460) provides formula grants under section 319 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for state and territory nonpoint source (NPS) management programs to minimize water pollution related to runoff from rain events or snow melt.

Resource Category: Funding

 

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Permitting Green Infrastructure: A guide to improving municipal stormwater permits and protecting water quality

January 2013

Permitting Green Infrastructure provides information about sustainable and adaptive trends in stormwater permitting with examples of stormwater permits that encourage or require low impact development or green infrastructure. While useful to the professional community, the guide is intended to be a resource for community and watershed advocates. 

Author or Affiliated User: Jeffrey Odefey

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Redesign of 21st Street, Paso Robles, California

2013

The City of Paso Robles, California redesigned a downtown street utilizing complete and green street design principles to better manage precipitation and stormwater runoff in a natural drainage area.   The 21st Street redesign project has proven successful as a means of stormwater management.   In a three-month period, the street’s new features, which include pervious pavement, street trees, and a stream channel in the middle of the street, helped mitigate flooding from nine significant rain events, and recharged approximately 250,000 gallons of stormwater into the region’s groundwater basin.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Washington D.C./District of Columbia Stormwater Ordinance - 2013 Rule on Stormwater Management and Soil Erosion and Sediment Control

2013

In 2013, the District Department of the Environment (now D. C. Department of Energy and Environment, or DOEE) released an amended Rule on Stormwater Management and Soil Erosion and Sediment Control to require that major development and redevelopment projects  incorporate additional measures to retain stormwater and reduce runoff. The District offers compliance flexibility by allowing for some off-site retention, the ability for developers to pay an in-lieu fee, or the option to buy stormwater retention credits.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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EPA Green Infrastructure Strategic Agenda 2013

2013

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Strategic Agenda for green infrastructure outlines the EPA’s key objectives in supporting community level efforts to develop and incorporate green infrastructure.   The strategy is designed to address climate change impacts.   According to the EPA, “creating more resilient systems will become increasingly important in the face of climate change. As more intense weather events or dwindling water supplies stress the performance of the nation’s water infrastructure, green infrastructure offers an approach to increase resiliency and adaptability.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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